Crankcase breather and oil filler pipe assembly



Nov. l5, 1938.. H. G. KAMRATH 2,137,054

VCRNKCASE BREATHER AND OIL FILLER PIPE ASSEMBLY Filed sept. 12, 19:56

entrar @Price CRAKCASE BREATHER AND OIL FILLER PIPE ASSEMBLY Herbert G. Kamrath,

Flint, Mich., assigner to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Application September 12, 1936, Serial No. 100,539

6 llaims.

This invention hasV to do with internal com-,f bustion engine 'breather and oil filler pipe assemblies in which there are incorporated air cleaners which serve to inhibit the escape oi oil vapors from and the entrance of dirt into the crankcases of the engines on which blies are installed.

'Ihe principal object of the invention is to provide an assembly of the type referred to which is so constructed that the air cleaner may be the assem- 4 easilydisassembled and serviced and the yiiller pipe maybe uncovered so that oil may be introduced into the crankcase of the engine on which the assembly is installed without disturbing or exposing the air cleaner assembly.

For a better understanding of the nature and objects of this invention, reference is made to the following specification wherein there is described the preferred embodiment of the invention which is shown in the accompanying drawmg. p

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 shows a breather and oil illler pipe assembly in accordance with my invention installed on an internal combustion engine;

Figure 2 is an enlarged longitudinal section through the breather and oil ller pipe assembly;

Figure 3 is a section takenfon the line 3--3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an exploded view on a reduced scale of the breather and oil filler pipe assembly.

The breather and oil filler pipe assembly shown in the drawing includes a cup-shaped member i with a ring of orices in its 'side wall just below its upper end and a tube I2 which extends through and is secured in a central orifice in the bottom of the cup-shaped member `with its upper end at a somewhat lower level than the upper end of the side wall of the cup-shaped member.V As the drawing shows, the upper portion of the tube |2 denes with the cup-shaped `member I0 ,an annular receptacle |3 which is iilled with oil or some other suitable liquid to about the level of the bead I4 before the assembly is put into use.

Within the annular receptacle I3, there is' disposed an annular lter element I5 which consists of a hollow annulus I6 fllled'with a suitable filter medium I1 such as that disclosed in the Webb application Serial No. 752,232 which was led on November 9, 1934. -On the upper end of the cylindrical outer wall I8 of the annulus I6, there is an upwardly stepped, outwardly extending supporting flange I9 whose outer step ls seated on a flange 20 on the upperend of the side wall of the cup-shaped member with its riser telescoped snugly within it. The wall I8 is imperforate and is separated fromthe side wall of the cup-shaped member by an annular aperture 2| into whose upper end the oriilces II open. The inner Wall 22 of the annulus I6 is generally cylindrical but its upper portion is -ilared slightly.

The cylindrical lower portion 'f'the wall 22 is imperiorate and snugly embraces the upper portion of the tube I2. The ared upper portion of the wall 22 extends above the upper end of the tube I2 land has in it a ring of orifices 23. The annular bottom wall 24 of the annulus I6 which is joined to the lower ends of the walls I8 and 22 is disposed above the liquid levelinI the annular receptacle I3 and has in it a ring of oriilces 25. The outer edge of thetop wall 26 of the annulus I6 which is generally frusto-conical in shape is joined to the upper step of the supporting iiange I 9 on the outer wall I8 with its inner edge resting on the upper end oi the ilared portion of the inner wall 22. Except for the central orice 21, the top wall 26 of the annulus I6 is imperforate. The orice 21 is encircled by an upwardly projecting iiange 28 on whoseupper end there is seated a cap 29 which is detachably connected to the ilange by a bayonet-slot joint.

To hold the iilter elementin place in the annular receptacle I3, there are provided spring hooks 30 which engage over the top of the illter element and are connected to the cup-shaped member III so that they may be swung to the inoperative positions in which they are shown in Figure 4. So that the hooks 30 will also prevent vrotation of the filter element with respect to the cup-shaped member and thus facilitate removal of the cap 28, there are preferably provided in the anges I9 and 20 notches 3| and 32 through which the hooks extend when they are engaged over the top of the filter element.

The breather and oil ller pipe assembly which is shown in the drawing maybe installed with the lower end of the tube I2 telescoped within the oil filler pipe of an internal combustion engine or, as Figure 1 shows, with the lower end of the tube I2 secured directly in a vertical opening `in the crankcase 33 of the engine 3l. Whenvthe assemalsv bly is so installed and the engine is operating, air

' through the oriilces Il, the aperture 2|, the orices 25, the lter medium I'I, the orices 23 and the tube i2 and is freed of dirt by contact with the body of liquid in the bottom o1' the annular-55 is only necessary to receptacle il and the nlter ymedium i1. Air discharged from the crankcase takes the same path in the reverse direction and is similarly freed of vapors and entrained oil.

As Figure 4 indicates, the filter element Il may be lifted vertically from the annular receptacle I3 after the hooks I0 have been moved to their inoperative positions. 'Ihis feature of my breather and oil filler pipe assembly, of course, facilitates renewal of the supply of liquid in the annular receptacle I3 and cleaning and recoating the filter medium l1 with liquid. However, it is not necessary to remove the filter element from the annular receptacle to replenish the supply of oil in the crankcase of the engine on which the assembly is remove the cap 29. To prevent any of the oil intended for the crankcase from going into the filter element I5 through the orifices 23, there is preferably provided a funnellike element 35 whose upper end is secured within the flange 28 which encircles the orifice 21 in the top of the filter element through which oil is introduced into the tube i2 and whose lower end overlaps the orifices 23.

1. In an assembly of the type disclosed, a generally vertically disposed tubular member whose lower end is open, a shell which encircles and is radially spaced from a portion of the tubular member so that it defines therewith an annular receptacle which constitutes a liquid reservoir, an orifice which communicates with the interior of the shell and the atmosphere, a filter element disposed within the shell, an orifice which communicates with the filter element and the interior of the tubular member, a cover of the filter element. and a removable cover for the upper end of the tubular member.

2. In an assembly of the type disclosed, a generally vertically disposed tubular member, whose lower end is open, a shell which encircles and is radially spaced from -a portion of the tubular member so that it defines therewith an annular receptacle which constitutes a liquid reservoir, an orifice in the wall of the shell near its upper end, an annular filter element removably disposed within the shell with its outer and lower walls spaced, respectively, from the outer and lower walls of the shell and supported from the upper end of the shell, a cover for the upper end of the lter element and the upper end of the tubular member. an orifice in the cover which is substantially equal in size installed. To do this, it'

for the upper end an orifice which communicates with the interior of the shell and the atmosphere, an annular filter element disposed within the shell so that it may be removed therefrom, a cover for the upper end of the filter element and the upper end of the tubular member, an orifice in the cover disposed opposite the upper end of the tubular member when the filter element is assembled with the shell, and a removable lclosure for the orifice.

4. In an assembly of the type disclosed, a generally vertically disposed tubular member whose v lower end is open, a shell which encircles and is radially spaced from a portion of the tubular member so that it defines therewith an annular receptacle which constitutes a liquid reservoir, an' annular filter disposed within and supported from the annular receptacle so that it may beremoved therefrom, an orifice in the top of the filter element which is disposed opposite the upper end of the tubular member when the filter element is disposed within the annular receptacle, a cover for the orifice which may be removed therefrom by rotating it, and means for holding the filter element in place within the annular receptacle and preventing rotation of the filter element with respect to the annular receptacle.

5. The assembly specified by claim 4 in which the last-mentioned means includes hooks which are connected to the shell and engage over the cover of and in notches in the filter element.

6. In an assembly of the type disclosed, a generally vertically disposed tubular member whose lower end is open, a shell which encircles and is radially spaced from a portion of the tubular member, means within the shell for separating foreign matter from air, an orifice which communicates with the interior of the shell and the atmosphere, an orifice which communicates with the interior of the shell and the interior of the tubular member, a cover for the upper end of the shell, and a removable cover for the upper end of the tubular member.

HERBERT G. KAMRATH. 

